What Are Your Core Values?

I was reminded the other day about the importance of remaining true to our personal and business values.

While presenting at our inaugural Entrepreneur’s Master Class to a highly enthusiastic audience we discussed in depth the importance of being clear about core values in our businesses. While many business experts consider a vision the most critical first step, many great enduring businesses such as Johnson and Johnson, Hewlett Packard and 3M started with a strong set of personal values.

When established, core values become critical guides for making important decisions in business and in our lives. Values determine our thoughts, our actions and ultimately who we are which in turn determines our end result.

On the surface this concept of following a strong set of values seems easy to understand but many businesses (and individuals) continue to fall short of remaining true to their core.

The reason behind this is that it doesn’t normally happen in a visible way, often we overlook or sacrifice our values once, then again and again until we realise that we have drifted in a completely different direction from where our core values intended for us to be, a place where we would have never chosen to end up.

Any individual, business or relationship that has fallen has had a breakdown of the core because ultimately values build value.

A video of Steve Jobs discussing the importance of living by their core values highlights the struggles that Companies (and individuals) often face. Companies that survive and thrive realise that being true to their core values may cost them however not living them will destroy them.

Can you identify your business core values?

Do you own them?

Do you operate by them?

Do you hold yourself accountable to them?

So if you feel you are drifting away perhaps it is time to get back to your core values…